With a firm resolve, I intervened. "Do not frighten the Shadow away. It remains dormant, awaiting a vessel weakened and ripe for possession. It will bide her time."
The Counselor retreated, his form collapsing into the embrace of a nearby chair.
"Who are you? How is it that you comprehend these events with such clarity? Could this be your doing?"
His inquiry bore no malice, merely the desperate grasp for an alternate fate.
I should have reveled in his disarray, yet I had long accepted that all debts of life are to be paid in time.
"I share your years, Counselor, though wear them less evidently. Experience has been my tutor."
A soft chuckle accompanied his breath. "Perhaps, but perhaps not."
"Possibility aside," I sighed, settling unbidden beside him, "the present concerns us more." He acknowledged with a nod.
"Is there someone at the door?" he called out. At once, the same maid who had tended to the girl emerged.
"Gather all of Lorana's belongings, take them to the distant yard, and set them aflame. Bury the valuables. Should anyone possess a gift from my daughter, reclaim it. I shall recompense generously, and for the thieves, amnesty in exchange for their return. Claim them cursed; superstition will ensure compliance."
The maid acquiesced, and with a gesture from the Councelor, vanished from sight.
"A prudent choice," I began, only to be silenced by his curt interjection.
"Silence, for now. Your presence is barely tolerable. I must ponder."
Choosing to rest my eyes, I succumbed to the weariness that enveloped me. My Sword, once enraged, now hopefully quelled, lest it bring further tribulation…
***
I found myself upon a precipice, the chill rain lashing against my skin, seeping beneath my remaining armor, its edges biting into my flesh. Before me yawned an abyss, behind, an enemy host, and there stood a boy, scroll in hand. The warriors remained statuesque, the generals merely clearing their visages of the downpour, all eyes upon me. The boy, sleeves twisted, unfurled the scroll with one hand, the other deftly claiming a dagger from an adjacent warrior, unnoticed. Blood met parchment, quickly obscured by the rain's relentless assault. A hush so profound, the rain itself seemed to fall in silence.
My strength waned, the end apparent to all. I knelt, seemingly crushed by my armor's weight, sapped by my wounds. Glove by glove shed, I grasped my sword, the sole pillar of my being, and clutched its blade, my blood's warmth mingling with its chill.
"Your life lies within my grasp, yet mine is now bound to your will. I offer my body for a single rebirth, that you may exact your vengeance. Upon your demise, this vessel shall return to me. Let this pact be sealed in blood, let my magic become your bane should you breach this accord."
With my final breath, I painted the sword with the warmth of my crimson and plunged it straight into my heart, revealing the life spell into action…
"By the shrouded might of the Darkness, to whom your allegiance binds you, cleansed in the lifeblood I offer, offspring of the celestial tapestry, I summon the ravenous Shadows that lurk in all corners of creation. Heed my beckoning and consume those who oppose me, revel in their corporeal essence. Let not the hand of Fate weigh upon them for their deeds, for in the pursuit of deliverance, their heinous acts are sanctified."
Upon that, the embrace of the Void welcomed me, an enfolding caress of the eternal night I had to endure for my survival …